Time for a confession. I suck at leftovers. Specifically, I make more food than Neil and I eat, I save the leftovers in matching Tupperware which languishes undisturbed until we decide to clean the fridge. This is not something that brings me pride. I have started taking extra dinner portions with me to work to pawn off on the officemates, but a better tactic would be to strategically use leftovers in the creation of a new dish. Repurposing leftovers as ingredients reduces food waste, is a wiser use of our food budget, and allows them to rise like a phoenix from the food purgatory that is our refrigerator.
This weekend provided the perfect opportunity for this new tactic. On Saturday night, I smoked some filets topped with a Dijon and horseradish crust. The steaks were accompanied by two giant artichokes, a dinner that was larger than what we typically eat in one sitting. As a result, one complete filet and two artichoke halves were stashed in containers and relegated to the fridge. But this time, I had a plan.
Sunday brunch is a perfect time for a “Fridge Frittata.” A frittata is an egg bake that is filled with a variety of vegetables, some meat if you like, and a bit of cheese. Frittatas are the less fussy cousin of a quiche, requiring less preparation and delivering delicious results. Even better, frittatas are delicious at any time of day and can range from hearty to delicate depending on your choice of ingredients. Frittatas also provide an opportunity to use up the ingredients that are lingering in your fridge, those saved bits of green onion, herbs, the end of a bag of shredded cheese, and leftovers.
Our Sunday Fridge Frittata included the leftover filet mignon, two bunches of green onion, the last bit of two bags of shredded cheese, some heavy cream, milk, a freezer-burned bag of tater tots, and some wrinkly lunchbox peppers. All of these ingredients went into a medium bowl, bathed in eggs, and allowed to rest for a bit to soak and for the flavors to come together. Then I poured the whole mess into a casserole dish and baked it at 350° until it was puffy, and the center was set. We ate our fridge frittata for brunch and then circled back for a second round at dinner time. It was delicious.
Keep in mind that a fridge frittata only has one hard and fast rule: there must be eggs mixed thoroughly with some sort of dairy or milk substitute.
Kelli’s Leftover Filet Fridge Frittata
Ingredients
- Leftover steak - cut into cubes
- ⅓ bag of tater tots
- Green onions - thinly sliced
- Lunchbox peppers - stemmed, seeded, and diced
- ½ c of shredded pizza cheese blend
- 6 eggs
- ½ c cream
- ½ c milk
- ½ c shredded Mexican cheese blend
- Salt and Pepper
- Hot sauce (optional) to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350° and grease or spray a casserole dish.
- Combine steak, tater tots, veggies, and half of the cheese in a large bowl. Whisk together eggs, milk, and cream until well combined and frothy. Pour egg mixture into the bowl and stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Let sit for 10+ minutes.
- Pour frittata mix into the greased casserole dish, cover, and bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes. Remove the cover and check for doneness, when done, the frittata should look puffed, and the center will be set. Once the frittata is fully cooked, remove from the oven and top with reserved cheese. Return to the oven and cook for an additional 10 minutes, until the eggs are golden, and the cheese is melted. Let cool for 10 minutes then slice and serve topped with hot sauce.
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